Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-02-24
WHAT SAILORS EAT.
A Diet Made Up Largely of Salt Horse"-Th'
Luxury of Fresh Fish Dinner.

Luxury of Fresh-Fish Dinner.
Perhaps some of the young admirers of
'slife on the ocean wave" would like to
know how they Jared aboard ship. There
is no mothers pantry to visit Each
sailor furnishes his own tin plate, coffee
cup, and knife and fork, He has no
table, with chairs placed for his conven-
fence. When grub is ready to be serv-
the cook gives the signal. A sailor comes
and receives pan of bread; another
takes a pan of beef, the third takes the
large coffee pot. with hash er potatoes, as
the cook chooses. The bill of fare is
fixed by law. At the beginning of the
voyage the captain calls the crew aft and
inquiries if there are any who wish to
have their food weighed. They always
prefer to eat much as they can "stow
away"
The sailors eat in the forecastle. If
they are disposed, they can rig themselves
a table: otherwise they must sit around
on trunks or the deck in rough weather,
and take their rations. The officers eat
with the captain in the cabin, where a
table is set and furnished the same as at
home. A rock is used in rough weather
to keep the dishes from dancing. If
there is good cook on board everything
goes well, but an unskillGd cook makes
all hands miserable.
During rough weather passengers do
not attempt to sit at the table, but take
whatever they require in their hands and
eat the best way they can. One day a
sailor was eating his rations during rough
weather, when the ship gave a lurch and
piece of beef went galloping across
the deck. The sailor raised his fork, and,
making dash for the beef. shouted:
''Stop that horse! The sailors called
their beef ''salt horse'' The story which
they tell io this:
zone voyage, when the beef was par
ticulariy tough, horseshoe was found in
the bottom of beef barrel, whereupon
| one of the sailors got up the following
rhyme:
''Old horse, old hor Sc. what brought you hete:"
From Saccarap to Portland pier,
L was dragging lumber for many a year.
| was kicked and cuffed with sore abuse
And salt down for sailors use;
Betwe n the m iinmast and he pumps
l was stated down in great big chunks
They hauled me out AMI picked my bones,
| Then hove me over to Davy Jones"
The captain of sailing ship was asked
by his wife if she coaldn't give the sailors
a good dinner. He replied that he was
afraid it would make them saucy. She
finally prevailed. A fine turkey was pro-
cured from shore and given to the cook,
who served it up in good order and gave
Ito the sailors. One gavo scrutinizing
look and exclaimed: ''What is this old
bird doing here?" Another said: 81 won
der how old it is? Must have died of
old age" The third remarked that if it
had been good for anything they would
have kept it in the cabin. They finally
hove it overheard and and made dinner
of 'salt horse" The captains wife, after
that, never meddled with her husbands
housekeeping.
| Sometimes dolphin is caught, and, as
you watch the dying colors of blue and
gold, as he writhes upon the deck, visions
of savory chowder and fresh fried fish pass
| before You.
With what an importsut air the cook,
comes into the cabin and asks for piece
| of silver, which he puts into the frying
pan with the sputtering fish. If the sill
yer turns black he considres the fish to
| have been poisoned. He says they some
times eat the copper from the bottom of
| a ship or from copper banks. How anx
iously we await the test those on shor
| whose thoughts are filled with politics,
the temperance question. and divorce
cases can never know. The silver is usu-
ally found to be bright and shining, and
the luxury of a fresh fish dinner is enioy-
ed with unadulterated happiness. Often
porpoise is harpooned, and then there
is great excitement. The liver and heart
taste similar to those of hog, but one
must be exceedingly hungry to enjoy the
meat. It has one virtue-that of being
fresh.
The oil is Usually saved, being quite
valuable. That found in the head is
much esteemed for oiling clocks, etc.
When mackerel is caught savory din
ner may be expected.
Sometimes thousands of flying fish dart
from the water on all sides of the ship,
and spreading their gauze wings fly for
few seconds, while we are tenn pied to ex-
claim:
Fish, fish all around,
and not one mOuthful to eat
For although they are most delicate
eating, it is impossible to catch any at ca
Often during the night one flies on board
and the cook serves it up for the most
favored person on board.
On the island of Barbados the fisher
men are very successful in catching these
fish, and a meal of boned flying fish is
worth eating.
During severe storms the cook has
many trials trying to serve his meals. In
carrying the dinner from the galley to
cabin he is sometimes struck by heavy
sea, the basket washed from his grasp,
the dinner and dishes wrecked. On one
occasion the cook of bark was struck
by ST a and washed overheard It was
beyond the power OF his shipmates to
save him.